Hey there, everyone, and welcome back to 'All I Want For Christmas is a Pokémon'. Sorry for the slight delay. Last week was ...it was last week, I'll just leave it at that. ...SO! Here's a new chapter for your reading pleasure. I hope you all enjoy this, because this one's pretty crazy. Want to know what I mean by that? Read on to find out, my loves, and, again, I hope you all enjoy this. =)

(Just a heads-up here...there's a bit of strong language and more Pokémon battles.)

"I'm sorry, Steph, but you want me and AJ to do what now?!" Alex asked, still trying to process what their boss had told them.

"Look, you two, I know this sounds bad-"

"You're putting it very fucking lightly, boss lady!" Alex all but shouted. "Where the hell'd you even get the idea for us to act as bait in the search for the stowaway?! ...Is this because we still don't have Pokémon of our own yet?"

"No, no, no, Alexis. Just hear me out on this," Stephanie began.

Opening her mouth to say something in response, Alex was stopped by AJ putting a hand on her shoulder as a way of saying "Calm down, Lexi, let's just hear her out first." Turning to look back at the brunette Latina, her face mirroring what she hoped her touch would convey, Alex huffed before giving Stephanie the go-ahead gesture.

"Thank you," Stephanie nodded. "Now, yes. I've decided to include you two in the search for our stowaway tag-along. But, you two won't be the only Pokémonless ones that'll be helping out with this."

"Wait. So, what you're saying is…." Alex began as she tried to wrap her head around what she was hearing.

"You're actually feeling willing enough to join us in the search?" AJ asked, helping piece together what Stephanie was saying.

The only response Stephanie gave the first confused and then surprised Chickbusters was a grin and a nod.

"Whoa. Really, Steph?" Alex asked, still surprised by this answer.

"Yes, really, Alex," the oldest brunette said as she got out of her seat.

"But ...but why? I thought stuff that would happen among us active wrestlers wasn't really anything that would be something you and the others would be concerned with," AJ said, surprise still evident on her face.

"Well, it's a matter of concern for us when it comes to the health, safety, and well-being of our roster, crew, and their Pokémon," Stephanie explained. "We'll do what we can to make sure you all are safe from anything, be it those with Pokémon or those of us still without."

"Wow, that's ...actually pretty nice of you, Steph," Alex grinned with a laugh. "So, I'm guessing you're going to be lending your Persian to the search parties around here?"

"'Your Persian'? What do you mean?" Stephanie asked, feeling a bit confused.

"You know, the Persian that you would have in your office sometimes," Alex said, pointing out the beige cat Pokémon she'd see with Stephanie when she had to see the older brunette about something.

Remembering the Pokémon in question, Stephanie said "Oh! You mean that Persian! No, no, Alex. That was my dad's Persian you'd see with me."

"Wait, that Persian was Vince's?" Alex asked, surprised to hear this.

"Yeah," Stephanie said with a laugh. "He would let me have his Persian in my offices sometimes because he felt it would help me calm down if I was having a rough day. And, surprisingly, it did."

"Aww, that was pretty nice of him to do for you," AJ smiled.

"I'll be sure to tell him that," Stephanie smiled with a laugh as she took off her suit jacket and pulled her hair back into a ponytail. "Now, come on, girls. Let's go look for a stowaway."

"Aye, aye, captain!" Alex saluted the oldest brunette before she jokingly marched over to the door and waited for the older two.

Sharing a laugh with AJ at the youngest Chickbuster, Stephanie said "Well. You ready to try to find this stowaway?"

"As ready as I can be," AJ said as she put on a brave face. Walking along with the other two, AJ couldn't help but let her thoughts bounce around in a number of directions.

'Helping search for the stowaway Pokémon? How are we even going to go about doing this? Just ...how? How exactly does Stephanie think we'll be able to catch this Pokémon? Just hope that it'll let us pick it up and give it hugs and kisses? ...This feels like a mistake. This just feels like a huge mistake. ...But, oh well. I'm here now. Might as well do what I can to help find it and release it out into the wild somewhere. Can't let anyone get hurt or anymore stuff get destroyed,' the petite brunette thought to herself with a nervous swallow as she followed Stephanie and Alex out of the oldest brunette's office and out into the hallway to begin their search for the stowaway.

Peering out from the now empty equipment crates it had been hiding between to make sure no humans or their Pokémon were around, the stowaway quickly darted out from its hiding place to underneath a nearby table. Checking again to make sure no one was around, the stowaway made another dash to its target, said target being a table covered with an array of foods. Having finally reached its target, the stowaway began to eat as much as it could before the humans came looking for it again.

"I dunno, Paige. I don't think we're gonna find this Pokémon before the show starts."

"We at least have to keep looking, Em. It has to be here somewhere."

"Yeah, somewhere. But, where? It seems like we've looked all over, and still haven't found it. Even Spins, Quackie, Dusky, and Zips haven't had much luck with helping us out."

"Oh yeah, you're right. ...Well, let's just keep up our search a bit longer. And if we can't find it before the show starts, we'll give up and try again another day. Sound fair?"

"Yeah, I'd say that's fair enough. You guys all ready to help us again?"

"Skull, Duskull."

"Ba, Banette."

"Psy!"

"Spin, Spinda, Spin!"

Hearing all of this, the stowaway felt frozen in place. 'What to do what to do what to do?' it thought to itself in a slight panic. Should it flee and hide like it had taken to doing lately? Or should it do as it had seen some of these humans do with their own Pokémon, stand its ground, and battle?

"Oh, Em, Em! I think I found it! I think I've found the stowaway!"

Feeling as though it had the right choice in mind, the stowaway growled as it felt its cheeks start to tingle. Leaping off of the table of now mostly eaten snacks, the stowaway prepared itself for the ensuing battle to come.

"Get ready, you guys. With our team against that, we'll have it taken care of in no time," Paige said.

"Skull!"

"Ba!"

"Psy!"

"Spin!"

Bracing itself for the incoming battle, the stowaway growled as it could feel sparks start to come out of its cheeks.

And with a look among the humans and their Pokémon, the battle had begun.

"Dusky, Zips! Both of you, use Shadow Ball!" Paige shouted.

"Skull!" "Ba!" Both Pokémon shouted as they began to form fairly large masses of dark purple energy before taking aim at the lone Pokémon in front of them.

Seeing the incoming attacks, the stowaway quickly dashed out of the way, keeping up the same evasive pattern before reaching what it felt was a safe location. In place, the stowaway began to feel surges of electricity flow through its body. Feeling that it had enough energy stored, with a loud "KA!", it released the energy it had been storing in a mighty thunderbolt that was heading in the direction of the humans and their Pokémon.

"Oh, bugger! Dusky, Zips, dodge out of the way NOW!" Paige shouted as she, Emma, and all of their Pokémon ran out of the way of the incoming thunderbolt.

Seeing that its attack had the effect it was hoping for, the stowaway quickly dashed away, hoping to find somewhere to hide.

Slowly making their way out of their hiding places, the group of six stepped out and saw that the stowaway was gone.

"Whoa. What the hell was that?" Emma asked.

"I ...I don't know. All I could make out was yellow fur," Paige said, still feeling shocked by what just happened.

"DUCK!" Quackie quacked as it held its head, a look of pain starting to cross its face.

"I agree," Emma said as she rubbed her Pokémon's head. "Whatever that Pokémon is, it's wicked strong. We should probably find Steph and let her know that we may have found the stowaway."

"Yeah. Maybe if we let her know, she can come up with a strategy to catch it," Paige nodded, as her gaze went to what took the brunt of the thunderbolt and a shiver ran up her spine. "We can only hope, at least."

YOWZA! Looks like Paige and Emma had a very close encounter with the stowaway, one that luckily didn't end with any real damage to themselves...can't say the same about an unlucky piece of equipment. At least it seems like the stowaway search got some more eyes and hands in Alex, AJ, and Stephanie (who shares a common bond with the two younger Chickbusters...ain't so bad being Pokémonless if the Billion Dollar Princess doesn't have a Pokémon of her own). May this trio have luck with their search! ...They're gonna need it if that attack is any indication. With them on the search, will they have any luck with finding the stowaway? And just how will they deal with it if they find it? All of these questions and more shall be answered...next time. Until then, don't forget to RR please. =)

(If the attack and clue from Paige are any indication, it seems like the stowaway is ...maybe an Electric-type? And, if so, which one?)

(My apologies if I didn't quite nail Zips and Dusky's speech patterns. I never really saw that many of them in the anime and I'm only really familiar with their vocals from the games, so I was just guessing there.)

(Stay safe, warm, and healthy out there, lovelies. *sends love and good vibes out to you all*)